InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Don't get all upset, sugah."

Leanne Phillips, Chaser, Appleby Arrows (chasingmydream) wrote in the_8th_floor,
@ 2011-11-10 19:06:00

Entry tags:

leanne campbell, lee jordan

Who: Lee and Leanne
What: A very difficult conversation
Where: St. Mungo's
When: Evening

Leanne was not looking forward to seeing Lee, not because she didn't want to see him, but because of what it was she knew she'd have to say. She liked him, maybe not loved quite yet, but they had great chemistry and he and Cedric had really hit it off, but if his behavior couldn't change..

She dipped her hands in the bathroom sink at the hospital and splashed water on her face. His room was just down the hallway and she was definitely not ready to go in there and give him such bad news right after he'd had a terrible road accident.

It had to be done.

She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection. This was it.

She left the bathroom and approached Lee's room. She didn't hesitate in knocking on the door frame as she poked her head in.

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recklesslee
2011-11-11 04:06 am UTC (link)

Lee was sitting up in his hospital bed when he heard the knock on the door frame. Sitting up might not be the best way of phrasing it, he was mostly laying down but the Healers had put a couple of pillows under his back so that he was at a slight angle. He turned his head gingerly towards the door, remembering the warning they'd given him about no sudden movements. He'd done a lot of damage to his neck and back when he hit the road. Nothing that they couldn't fix but he needed to be careful in his movements.

He smiled broadly when he saw that it was Leanne. "Hey. Why aren't you at your game?" he asked. He was really glad to see her, he hadn't had any other visitors. Except for Harry and some of the other aurors but he didn't think they counted since they'd been there to arrest him and then ask him more questions.

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chasingmydream
2011-11-11 04:15 am UTC (link)

Leanne gave Lee half a smile as she entered the room. "I thought it more important to make sure you were okay. They'll be fine without me." She slid her hands into her jacket pockets and looked around the room. She was avoiding the inevitable.

When she couldn't stall any longer, she crossed the room and took a seat in the chair next to Lee's bed. She chewed on the inside of her lip and stared at her knees. "So. How are you?"

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recklesslee
2011-11-11 04:24 am UTC (link)

"I'll be alright," he said, looking at her. Something seemed off about her tonight. "Sorry that you're missing your game because of me. According to the Healer, Penelope's the one who got my leg from the muggles. I guess I should thank her, when this is all done. Although I've been thinking a pegleg might have been fun," he added after a minute, rambling.

"Harry had to arrest me. I'm not allowed to leave my room or the hospital without an escort. I have no clue where they're expecting me to go, I'm not really up to moving around all that much even with an escort," he said, figuring it was best to get everything out on the table all at once, then he could figure out what was bothering her.

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	chasingmydream 2011-11-11 04:29 am UTC (link)
	Leanne kept her eyes downcast as she listened, nodding along. "It's okay," she said, "as long as you're okay, that's what important." She glanced up to meet his eye briefly, which was possibly a mistake, because it was very easy to remember the fun they'd had. "Why'd you do it?" She meant to ask what had happened, but it didn't work out quite like she'd planned. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

recklesslee
2011-11-11 04:41 am UTC (link)

Lee was startled by her question. Not even Harry had asked him why. He looked at her for a moment in silence before answering, "Why'd I crash my bike? To avoid hitting an old lady," he said, deliberately misunderstanding her for a minute.

He looked up at the ceiling in silence, he knew she was asking him why he'd taken his bike out in the first place and he couldn't tell her the truth about that. "Things just got a little much for me. Not with you but everything else," he said quietly, giving her as much information as he could without revealing anything but also with lying to her. "I needed to do something to clear my head and the bike's always done that for me. I only meant to take it out for a quick ride around my parent's neighborhood and I got lost in it and ended up in the middle of London. Then I crashed and I knew I was hurt and I panicked and ended up splinching myself," he told her. This was the same version he'd told the aurors when they'd questioned him earlier.

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chasingmydream
2011-11-11 04:45 am UTC (link)

Leanne turned to look at Lee while he explained himself. She didn't feel like he'd done a very good job of explaining the whys of things. "Things like what?" She asked. Maybe she could abort this whole plan if he had a genuine problem, but that sounded to her like she was trying to find an out.

"You can tell me, Lee, I won't laugh or judge... if you can't talk to me about it, then who can you?"

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recklesslee
2011-11-11 04:51 am UTC (link)

Lee closed his eyes. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything. About his involvement with Ostendo, and the list, and especially about kidnapping Addy but he couldn't. He couldn't talk to anybody about those things. Except for the other members of his cell and none of them had been to see him. And even if they did come to visit he couldn't talk to them about it here. He wasn't sure he could even talk to them about why he'd done it.

"I can't tell you Leanne. I want too but I can't. I just don't know how," he said honestly. He didn't tell her that part of him not knowing how was because he didn't know how to tell her without the risk of putting her in danger. Her and Cedric.

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chasingmydream
2011-11-11 05:00 am UTC (link)

Leanne dropped her eyes to her hands and bit her lip. Well. That had actually made things easier. She sucked in a deep, shaking breath.

"I see." Be strong. She pursed her lips for a count of ten then looked up, shaking her hair out of her face. Strong now, weak later.

"Lee.." She said, relieved that her voice came out strong. "I'm not sure this is going to work..." She lifted her eyes to look at him and held up her hand to stop any interruption. She needed to say why before he argued. "If you can't be honest with me about things that are important to you, and if you keep getting into this sort of trouble, I'm not sure if... if I want you around my son." She couldn't look at him anymore. Oh look, a neat painting on the opposite wall. "I like you, and I think the restrictions are stupid, but..." She shrugged.

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recklesslee
2011-11-11 05:28 am UTC (link)

Lee knew he'd said the wrong thing the minute he'd heard Leanne start talking again. He'd told her the truth, or as much of it as he could without giving away any secrets, but it had still been the wrong thing. He opened his mouth to say something back to her but stopped when he saw her hand come up and listened to her.

He swallowed and looked back up at the ceiling, not sure what he was going to say. She was looking out for Cedric's best interest and he could understand that. "Yeah. You have to do what you think is best for Cedric. And yourself. I get that," he said, hoping the pain didn't show in his voice. Or on his face. Or if it did she'd believe it was mostly due to his injuries. He could understand her needing to look after her and Cedric's best interests but that didn't mean he had to like it.

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chasingmydream
2011-11-11 05:38 am UTC (link)

He wasn't freaking out. That was good. Or, maybe it was bad. Leanne wasn't sure, and she had a feeling it was better not to dwell on it at the moment.

"I'm glad you understand," she said. "This isn't something I wanted, I hope you know that, but... He needs a good role model, and..." She took a deep breath, regretting what she was about to say, "and I don't think you're turning out to be that for him. I'm sorry."

She rose to her feet but did not leave just yet.

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recklesslee
2011-11-11 05:56 am UTC (link)

"I didn't want it either," he said quietly. He breathed in sharply at her statement about him not being a good role model for Cedric and closed his eyes, his fist clenched for a moment as he tried not to say something that would make this conversation any more difficult for either of them. She was right and he knew it. "Don't be. I didn't leave you much of a choice," he said, trying to sound more steady than he felt.

He heard her stand up but didn't open his eyes. He wasn't sure he could stop himself from asking for a second chance if he looked at her. He'd blown his chance with her by being stupid.

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	chasingmydream 2011-11-11 06:05 am UTC (link)
	Leanne nodded, though Lee couldn't see it. "Right," she said. She waited for him to speak, halfway wanting him to ask for a second chance, but half afraid that, if he did, she'd give in. When he didn't say anything, she started toward the door. "I... I'll see you, then." She didn't want to say a flat good-bye. That was just cruel. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

recklesslee
2011-11-11 06:20 am UTC (link)

"Yeah. I'll see you around. I'll talk to some friends of mine and see if I can't find somebody to help Cedric with a pen for Sooty to play outside in. If that's alright with you," Lee told her, opening his eyes and looking at her. He wanted to ask her for a second chance but didn't. "Wouldn't want the plans Cedric drew up for it to go to waste," he added with a small smile. The two of them had worked hard on those plans and Lee had been looking forward to building it with the little boy but he figured it was probably a good idea to suggest someone else finish the project. It would just be easiest for everyone involved.

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chasingmydream
2011-11-11 06:27 am UTC (link)

Leanne stopped in the doorway, her hand on the frame. She glanced back over her shoulder as Lee spoke. She gave him a half smile. "Thank you," she said, she hadn't talked to her son yet about her decision, and that was not something she was looking forward to.

Cedric was going to be heartbroken. There was no winning here, was there? She turned back to the hallway and walked away. She'd need some time alone to get her head together before going home.

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